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I read a great post today on womenonbusiness.com called “Looking for What You Love to Do in All The Wrong Places.” Author Kirstie Berzanski LOVES what she does! She sells moving boxes. Kirstie writes that she always thought that the product she was selling would define her career hapiness, but she was wrong.
It’s not the moving boxes that Kirstie loves, it’s the problem solving, teaching her customers how to best utilize the products, the selling, the challenge of running an online business, and the flexibilty that she loves. She created a list of 10 deeper needs she has- all of which are fullfilled by her career- yet none of the items have anything to do with moving boxes. Do you know anyone like Kirstie who is very happy in their career doing something that seems surprising at first?
Women of all ages are stuck on questions like “What do I really want to do for a living?” and “What work would make me happy?” Have you ever considered that you might be overlooking the whole point of work that makes you happy in the first place?
Sure, it might be more fun to do X versus Y, but take the product or service out of it and think about what makes you happy, motivated and balanced in your work life.
Here are some brainstorming prompts you can ask yourself to start exploring what you really love to do in your career:
-In my job I need to feel _________. Examples: creative, helpful, challenged, intelligent, in charge.
-Explain your ideal work schedule. Examples: traveling frequently, working from home, working in a big city, working out of a small office condo.
-I prefer to work with ________. Examples: people, problems I can solve, numbers, other companies, consumers, myself.
-Ideally, I’d like to work with a product or service that is _____. Examples: reliable, popular, complicated, a necessity, scientific, one that makes others happy.
-What fulfillment do you hope to gain from your career? Examples: I want to teach others, I want to provide the best product for my customers, I want to have the most accuracy in my calculations, I want to motivate a team, I want to explore new ideas, I want to present to others, I want to help others improve their situation, I want to cut costs, I want to see my customers or co-workers smile, I want to be continually challenged, I want to learn new things, I want a great work/life balance.
Read Kirstie’s list and think about your own 10 needs you’d like to fullfill.
I encourage you to write this list down and share it here with us to help other women create theirs. You may already be in your ideal career. Or, your ideal career may be right around the corner, but you were too busy looking in all the wrong places to notice!
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Comments
12.10.09
This seems like a great exercise for everyone!
-In my job I need to feel flexibility and challenge (if I'm not learning, why bother?)
-My ideal work schedule includes options for working from home, allowing me to get the work done when I'm energized (still meeting deadlines and delivering high quality), and the ability to take vacation once in a while without pressure to keep working.
-I prefer to work with people and big-picture projects. While I love the nuts and bolts, it's seeing the machine come together that gets me excited.
-Ideally, I’d like to work with a product or service that is innovative and needed by the world. Something that is willing to fail a few times before being perfect, something that can create a market.
-What fulfillment do you hope to gain from your career? That I made a difference. That my service, widget, or solution changed people's lives for the better in some capacity.
12.10.09
Thank you Nicole - this was a good exercise.
-In my job I need to feel a valuable part of the team.
-My ideal work schedule includes deadlines and a mix of environments (work from home, team places and travel). I like to mix it up which keeps me energized and out of a rut. A finish line is important for me.
-I prefer to work with lots of information. I've come to realize I love diving into a mound of data and making sense and order of it.
-Ideally, I’d like to work with a product or service that is complicated and a necessity. I haven't been able to always be true to this one. After a few years, providing the world with a better chatchke looses it motivator. Serving the people, who serve the people who serve can be a problem in IT.
-What fulfillment do you hope to gain from your career? Personal progression - learning valuable lessons for myself. Also that I made a difference in the structure and strategy of an organization. I gain personal satisfaction knowing things run smoother and are more understandable once I move on.
12.10.09
These are really great questions. I particularly feel as though it is important for us to ask ourselves what we are looking for - because it is very easy to settle. TOO easy. You can get complacent and that is something that can potentially lead to unhappiness. While easier said than done, keeping the questions coming and the search for answers interesting can lead to great and unexpected results.
Love the post!
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